1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to material-handling systems, and more particularly to safety netting that contains product on overhead shelves and that protect workers and customers below in the aisles.
2. Description of Related Art
Shelves and racks are a convenient way to store items, and stored many levels high, such can maximize floor space. A typical warehouse retail store like The Home Depot has material racks that are two, three, and four levels high. Heavy items, like backup store inventory on a pallet, is placed and fetched from high above by a forklift.
Heavy items placed ten to twenty feet high above aisles in material racks and on shelves can present a significant and not-so-rare personal injury risk. Shaking, bumping, and poorly stacked items can come tumbling down and hurt people below, or at a minimum damage the product.
Not surprisingly, a number of different devices and methods have evolved to address these problems. The Law too has entered the picture with OSHA regulations, and personal injury lawsuits. New company procedures, union work rules, and plain common sense now dictate that an effective restraint, barrier, or guard system be installed on the higher shelves and rack to prevent falling debris.
As could be expected, some methods and devices are better than others. Conventional safety products can be expensive to buy, and difficult to work with or install. A simple netting secured all around the shelf opening can be effective if the netting is strong enough and secured well. But the way the netting is secured and constructed can mean opening the net to access the shelf is made very difficult, in some cases requiring a technician to climb high above and use hand tools to open and/or close the net.
Sinco/Sala (Middletown, Conn.), InCord (East Haddam, Conn.), and others market rack guard systems that use different kinds of barriers and attachment hardware. For example, Sinco/Sala uses a nylon mesh that is stretched inside a perimeter frame of taut wire rope. So-called EZ-clips are used to attach the netting to the wire rope frame. InCord markets their SURE-GARD synthetic mesh that is able to stretch under load. A variety of mesh-size openings are offered for a range of contained item types and sizes.
A MEZZNET-DEFENSE-SYSTEM is marketed by BayNets (East Haddam, Conn.) that raises and lowers flexible netting hung from a rod that is guided up and down by a pair of side posts. Open-sided mezzanines with these systems are accessed by operating a cable and pulley system that connects to the rod and runs inside the two side posts. The cable and pulleys can be manually cranked, or powered by an electric motor. BayNets"" advertising literature suggests that these systems meet federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fall-protection standards.
Screens and net that protrude out, or that have protruding fasteners, can hook and catch people and equipment operating nearby. So what is needed is a netting system that does not protrude into the aisle ways.
Briefly, a material-rack safety-netting embodiment of the present invention comprises left and right vertical extension posts that bolt to the face of the upper bay of a material rack. A two-part curtain netting that parts in the middle is supported between horizontal, parallel top-and-bottom wire ropes on hooks. The left and right edges of the curtain netting are secured to the vertical extension posts with more hooks. It is critical to the present invention that these hooks and wire ropes be attached along the middle line of the inside opposite-facing edges of the vertical extension posts. The front aisle-facing edges of these vertical extension posts are smooth and no part of the curtain netting extends past them when the curtains are fully closed. A latch is provided at the center to secure the two-parts of the curtain netting together.
An advantage of the present invention is that a safety netting is provided that does not get snagged by people or equipment in the aisle ways.
Another advantage of the present invention is that a safety netting is provided that is easy to install.
A further advantage of the present invention is that safety netting systems are provided that are simple to operate.
The above and still further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of specific embodiments thereof, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.